Apron-guiding device.



T. G. SARGENT.

APRON GUIDING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 22, 1913.

1,096,2 Patented May 12, 1914.

UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFTQE.

FREDERICK GRANDISON SARGENT, OF WESTFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO C. G. SARGENTS SONS CORPORATION, OF GRANITEVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS, A COR- PORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

APRON-GUIDING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 12, 1914.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, Fnnonnron Gr. SARGENT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Nestford, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Apron-Guiding Device, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a device for guiding aprons which is capable of general use and is especially adapted for guiding the wire cloth aprons of machines for drying cotton, wool,'and other materials of a similar character. These aprons are .compara tively wide and run over drums of a large size. It often happens that the apron does not easily run centrally in the machine and has a tendency to run off at the ends of the drums. This causes the edge of the'apron to come into contact with the sides of the drier and spoils the apron. This is liable to occur when the edges of the apron are not straight and also on account of one edge of the apron expanding on account of the heat of the drying coils which are located in some cases on one side of the drier. Another cause of this is the fact that the apron is sometimes woven wavy instead of flat.

The principal object of this invention is to provide automatic means of a simple and inexpensive character for counteracting this difficulty, no matter what its cause.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings in which,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one end of a drier showing a preferred embodiment of this invention applied thereto; Fig. 2 is an end view of the same showing details of construction; Fig. 3 is av plan of a portion thereof; and Fig. 4. is a longitudinal central sectional view on enlarged scale showing certain details of construction.

The device is shown as applied to a drier having a frame 10 and a transverse shaft 11 at the end for the reception of the. drum 12,

for carrying the apron 13. It will be understood, of course, that these parts are duplicated at the other end of the machine. The shaft 11 is provided with self alining bearings 1 1 at each end. On each of these bearings 14 is a bushing 15 adapted to turn about ing. The bushing is provided with a circular eccentric portion 17 between this pulley and an outer pulley 18 which is keyed to the other end of the bushing. These two pulleys therefore always turn together. The eccentric portion 17 of the bushing is journaled in ahub 19 which is mounted on a bracket 20 adjustably mounted on a bracket2l fixed to the frame 10. By a screw 22 the support 20 can be moved back and forth for ordinary adjusting purposes. It will beunderstood that these parts are duplicated on the other end of the drum. I v

From each of the pulleys 18 a belt, chain, or other flexible connection 23 extends upwardly to a pulley 24 keyed to a transverse shaft 25 at the top of the frame. One of the belts 23 is crossed.

The pulleys 16 on the two ends of the drum are of the samediameter as the drum so that when the apron travels sidewise in either direction it will engageone of these pulleys and cause it to turn until conditions are such that the apron will no longer touch it. This turnin of the pulley obviously causes the bushing 15 to turn in its bearing 19. This being eccentric moves the shaft 11 bodily at that end. In the case of an apron running at comparatively slow speed, it is necessary to move this end of the shaft outwardly away from the opposite drum in order to cause the apron to travel back away from this end of the drum. This is a condition opposite to that pertaining in the case of high speed belts. Of course, as soon as the end of the shaft is shifted sufficiently, the apron will travel back and the shaft operating device will cease to work. It will be understood of course that in a device as shown in the drawings, the shifting of one end of the shaft in one direction will cause the shaft 25 to turn and the other end of the shaft 11 to be shifted in the opposite direction. Thus the amount of correction secured in a given time is doubled.

In order to prevent the turning of the pulley 16 more than a quarter turn from normal position it is provided with a stud 26, and

the frame has two stops 2?. When the pulley has moved a quarter turn in either direction from the normal the stud will engage one of the stops and stop further rotation of the pulley 16. This can be accomplished also by cutting away a part of the pulley 16 at 28. Then without the use of the stops the action will cease after nearly a quarter turn.

Although I have shown only one drum, it I is to be understood, of course, that the drier always has another drum and I prefer to apply the same device to the other drum, but for the sake of equalizing the adjustments I place the eccentric portions 1'7 of the bushings in exactly opposite positions on the two ends, that is, if the part which projects from the center is at the bottom on one shaft 11, it will be at the top on the other, I This constitutes a very simple means of correcting this fault not only for drier aprons but for all devices of a similar character, and one which works automatically without attention on the part of the operator.

When the running over of the apron is. caused by one side of the apron being longer than the other, this device tends to stretch both edges equally. This stretching con tinues only a short time, when the tension 7 of. the apron on the drums lessens, and then the stretching stops. By that time the apron j is the same length on each side and it will I require less regulating.

In setting up the device the support 20 is adjusted to proper position so that the apron is as taut as may be considered desirable, and the eccentricportions 17 of the two bushings on one shaft are located directly under the center of the shaft, while the ec- 3 centric portions of the other shaft are turned to the opposite position.

Although I have shown the device as our pl-oyed only for a drier, and shownonly one form of construction, I am aware of the fact that it can be employed for many other purposes and in many other forms without departing from the scope of the invention as expressed in the claims. Therefore, I do not wish to be limited in these respects, but

What I do claim is 1. In a device of the character described, the combination with a shaft, a drum thereon, and an apron passing over the drum, of means located at the end of the drum and concentric therewith in position to be partially rotated by the apron whenever it moves beyond the end of the drum, the rotation of said means being effective to move that end of the shaft longitudinally with respect to the apron.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination with a shaft, a drum thereon, and an apron passing over the drum, of 5 means concentric with the drum and located in position to be engaged by the apron whenever it moves beyond the end of the drum for moving that end of the shaft in one direction, and means for moving the} other end of the shaft in the opposite direction. simultaneously and equally. V I

3. The combination with a shaft and a? drum thereon for carrying an apron, of a pulley loosely mounted on said shaft at the end of the drum and of substantially the same diameter as the drum, and means connected with said pulley for moving the shaft laterally when the pulley is turned.

4-. The combination with a drum for car rying a traveling apron or the like, of an idle pulley at the end of the drum rotatable independently thereof, and means operated by said pulley when turned on the axis of the drum for moving the end of the drum laterally.

5. The combination with a rotary drum for carrying an endless apron or the like, of an idle pulley located at each end of the drum and rotatable independently thereof, and means connected with each of said pulleys for moving the ends of the drum in opposite directions when either pulley is turned on its axis.

6. The combination with a drum for an endless apron or the like, and a shaft therefor, of a bushing concentrically mounted on said shaft and freely rotatable thereon, a pulley fixed to said bushing and located at the end of the drum, a bearing in whiclrsaid bushing is mounted to turn, said bushing having an eccentric portion located in said bearing, whereby when the pulley and bushing are turned the shaft will be moved laterally in the bearing.

7. The combination with a drum for an endless apron or the like, and a shaft therefor, of a bushing concentrically mounted on said shaft and freely rotatable thereon, a pulley fixed to said bushing and located beyond the end of the drum, a bearing in which said bushing is mounted to turn, said bushing having an eccentric portion located in said bearing, the eccentricity of said bushing being normally vertical.

8. The combination with a drum for an endless apron or the like and a shaft there for. of a bushing concentricallv mounted on said shaft and freely rotatable thereon, a pulley fixed to said bushing and located at the end of the drum, a bearing in which said bushing is mounted to turn, said bushing having an eccentric portion located in said bearing, a second pulley concentrically fixed to said bushing, a flexible member connected with the second pulley, a shaft parallel with the drum shaft driven by said flexible connection, a shaft adjusting device on the other end of the drum, and means connected with said transverse shaft for operating said shaft adjusting device in a direction opposite to that in which the first named pulley is adjusted.

9. In a device of the character described, the combination of a pair of drums for an endless apron or the like, a shaft for each drum, a bushing mounted to rotate freely on each shaft, said bushings having eccentric surfaces, the eccentricity of one of said bush- I ings being below the shaft and the other above the shaft, a circular bearing for each of said eccentric portions, and means Whereby when the apron moves beyond the end of either drum it will cause said eccentric portion to turn and move the shaft laterally.

10. In a shaft adjusting device, the combination with ashaft, of a concentrically mounted bushing rotatable freely thereon and having an eccentric portion, a fixed bearing for said eccentric portion, and means for turning said bushing for the purpose of shifting said shaft in said fixed bearing.

11. The combination with an endless apron, a drum over which it travels, and a shaft on which the drum is mounted, of means at the end of the drum for positively moving the end of the shaft when the apron moves beyond either endof the drum, and 20 FREDERICK GRANDISON SARGENT.

Witnesses:

CHARLES G. SARGENT, FRED W. SWAIN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

